Stress Testing

Exercise stress testing gives your doctor information about how your heart works during physical stress. Some heart problems are easier to diagnose when your heart is working hard and beating fast. If you are not able to exercise, there are different types of stress tests that can be done, including nuclear stress tests and stress echocardiograms. Stress testing with ECG consists of a patient exercising on a treadmill or bicycle to make the heart beat faster and work harder. The physician will monitor the heart beat while the patient is exercising and look for changes on the ECG that occur when the heart does not have enough oxygenated blood.

Often times this type of stress test is performed to see how patients are responding to medical treatment or before enrolling in a cardiac rehabilitation program after a heart attack or cardiac surgery. Also, certain types of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) are brought on by exercise so a patient may have this test to try to bring on an arrhythmia in a controlled, monitored setting so it can be diagnosed and treated. During a stress test, if you can't exercise for as long as what's considered normal for someone your age, it may be a sign that not enough blood is flowing to your heart.